Get cozy with this rich and creamy Old Fashioned Potato Soup. When you are looking for some simple and delicious comfort food, this easy potato soup recipe is for you!
Like our Loaded Sweet Potato Soup, it's topped with crispy bacon and cheese. Best of all, from start to finish, it'll take you less than 45 minutes to prep, cook, and serve.
Related Recipe: Easy German Potato Soup With Sausage
Why You'll Love This Soup
EASE. This is a really easy homemade potato soup recipe that only requires simple, everyday ingredients. Most likely, you'll just need to do some fridge and pantry shopping. And this soup is a One-Pot Meal!
FLAVOR AND TEXTURE. Creamy, rich, and delicious. Customize the texture to your own liking. One option is to run the immersion blender until the soup is perfectly smooth.
TIME. Ready to be served in less than 45 minutes. This soup is pure comfort food and can easily be put together even on busy weeknights.
LEFTOVERS. This homemade soup is everyone's favorite because it reheats well and tastes great on days two and three.
Ingredients
Please check the recipe card below for a detailed, printable ingredient list.
POTATOES - Russet potatoes are a starchy potato variety, making them a great choice for this soup.
ONION - Yellow onions or sweet onions work well for this soup.
GARLIC - When minced garlic is sauteed, it adds a light nutty flavor to the dish, which I really enjoy. If you don't like garlic, you can skip it.
BUTTER - As always, I recommend using unsalted butter.
VEGETABLE BROTH - Adds a lot of flavor to the soup.
MILK - Makes the soup creamy but not too heavy.
CHEDDAR CHEESE - shredded
NUTMEG - When adding nutmeg, remember that a little bit goes a long way. Nutmeg is a delicious spice with sweet, woody, and lightly nutty notes. It's very commonly used in many German Recipes.
SUGAR - A bit of sugar helps tie all the other flavors together.
RELATED RECIPE
SAUSAGE LENTIL SOUP - This soup is bursting with hearty and savory flavors and comforting ingredients; it is the perfect way to cozy up for dinner.
How To Make This Old-Fashioned Potato Soup Recipe
- FRY - Use a soup pot (or Dutch Oven) to fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set it aside. Add butter to the bacon drippings.
- SAUTE - Add the potatoes, onions, garlic, sugar, and nutmeg and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes.
- DEGLAZE - Add milk and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- BLEND - Add two-thirds of the Cheddar cheese. Use a hand mixer and blend the soup until smooth. If desired, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- GARNISH - Serve immediately and top with remaining Cheddar cheese and crispy bacon.
Recipe Success Tips
- CHEDDAR - Avoid store-bought, shredded Cheddar cheese. Packaged shredded cheese has unwanted fillers and additives.
Instead, grate an 8 ounces piece of cheese. It makes for a creamier soup and is less expensive. - SCALLIONS - Adding a few sliced scallions adds a delightful bit of extra crunchiness.
- DAIRY. This old-fashioned potato soup is made with milk. But you could also use some heavy cream for added creaminess.
- Time Saving Tip. You don't need to peel the potatoes. Simply wash and scrub them well. You can also use this produce cleaner to make sure your potatoes are squeaky clean.
And the potato skin is full of flavor. So why do I peel the potatoes in this recipe? My husband prefers peeled potatoes. 😉 - The Right Type Of Potatoes. For this recipe, you'll want very starchy potatoes. Russets potatoes, with their mealy texture, are perfect for this recipe.
You could also use Yukon Golds for this recipe. But you'll want to avoid using waxy potatoes such as new potatoes, fingerlings, or baby potatoes.
Leftovers
This homemade Old-Fashioned Potato Soup will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge. I recommend this airtight container to store the soup.
FREEZE - Unfortunately, this potato soup does not freeze well.
Soups You've Got To Try
MUSHROOM SOUP - made from fresh and dried mushrooms
Hungarian Goulash - a hearty European beef stew recipe
SHRIMP CHOWDER - easy and outrageously delicious.
TOMATO SOUP - flavor, flavor, flavor, and just 4 ingredients
CHILI - comfort food in a bowl
CHICKEN AND POTATO SOUP - a soup made with simple ingredients but big, bold flavors
Old Fashioned Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 12 ounces bacon sliced
Vegetables
- 3-4 large russet potatoes peeled and diced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon butter unsalted
Liquids
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cups milk
Cheese
- 3 cups Cheddar shredded
Instructions
- Use a soup pot (or Dutch Oven) to fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the bacon fat. Once melted, add the diced potatoes, onion, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Deglaze the mixture with vegetable broth and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
- Add ⅔ of the cheddar cheese to the soup. Use a hand blender and blend until the soup is creamy. If desired season with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately. Top with crispy bacon bits and remaining cheddar.